Review of Webb Alert

Morgan Webb is no stranger to the world of tech TV. She co-hosts and produces the video game review show X-Play on cable network G4 and has written gaming columns for FHM magazine.

As a child, Webb played video games when her parents did not allow her to watch television, and while attending the University of California at Berkeley, she picked up self-taught computer skills.

Her passion and aptitude for technology have helped her create, along with husband and site business manager Rob Reid, Webb Alert, a daily (Mon.-Thur.) technology podcast launched on August 2, 2007. Like Rocketboom and Wallstrip, Webb Alert is an online news site hosted by a young, attractive female personality – and, for Webb, another extension of her “Geek Goddess” fame.

Webb Alert delivers round-ups from the world of tech news and blogs in five minutes “so that viewers who have missed them can find all the pertinent recaps in one place.” According to Rob Reid, the content is comprised of about 70% news and 30% tech society and lifestyle stories.

Expect quite a variety – everything from gadgets (like iphone’s skype feature), scoops on major companies (such as Yahoo and Google’s possible partnership), tech events and incidents (like Facebook’s hacker attack), and even DIY projects (e.g how to make a Guitar Hero controller). Occasionally, Webb will also conclude the segment with a delightfully random clip that has nothing to do with technology at all, such as this clip (skip to very end) of a giant wave pool in Japan.

Obviously, each episode covers lots of ground, and Webb speeds along at a brisk pace. Her presentation is stylized, exuberant, and unfailingly perky. Too affected? Or simply personable? You decide.

What makes Webb Alert different from most online news shows is that the host is also the writer, so the opinions she utters are truly her own.  In the pilot episode, Webb explains her vision for the vlog.